FUNCTIONAL STATUS AMONG PATIENTS WITH STAGE III PARKINSON’S DISEASE

Aims Of Study: The purpose of the study was to assess the functional capabilities of patients with Stage III Parkinson's disease (PD). Functional status of PD patients declines due to impaired postural reflexes and characteristic loss of balance which became evident at Stage III thus activities of daily living (ADLs) are compromised as the severity of the disease increases. Methodology:  Descriptive case series was conducted on stage III PD patients (n=64). Patients with age ranges from 45 to 75 years were recruited and patients with other neurological issues were excluded. They were assessed using a Functional independence measure scale having reliability 0.95. Results: Out of 64 patients, 75% required minimal assistance and 9.4% required supervision while performing the ADLs. Whereas, 81% of patients need 2 hours of personal care assistance according to burden of care. Limitations & Future Implications: Only functional status of PD patient is determined no exercise regime or intervention were incorporated to assess their impact on the PD patient functional activities. Thus, future studies should be carried out to find the correlation between aerobic exercises and their impact on PD patient level of functional independence. Originality: Information added was all taken from databases and reduced to similarity index and was not submitted to any other journal. Conclusion: Stage III Parkinson’s disease patient required minimal level of assistance while performing tasks of daily living. However, majority of these patients required 2 hours of personal care assistance on average per day to compete with daily living.

Causes and Remedies of Social Exclusion of Students With Hearing Impairment

The main purpose of this study was to identify the causes of social exclusion of students with hearing impairment with reference to home and school. An intensive review of literature covered related topics such as characteristics of social exclusion, dimensions of social exclusion, different models of social exclusion, marginalized children in Pakistan and initiatives taken by government, and the role NGOs and INGOs in promoting and implementing inclusive education in Pakistan. On the basis of literature review, a model was proposed to measure social exclusion; this linear model addressed two major sources of social exclusion (Home environment and School environment). Two Likert scales and one questionnaire was developed, one for students, one for teachers and one for parents of students with hearing impairment. A panel of experts assessed the validity of the instruments. All three were then pilot tested. A sample of students (n=560) studying in the classes 6-10 from seven divisions of Punjab, their teachers (n=250) and parents (n=250) were selected through convenient sampling. The data collected from students with hearing impairment, parents and teachers were analysized. On the basis of data analysis, major causes of social exclusions were identified related to home and school. Researcher proposed remedies in second part of data analysis to overcome the factors causing social exclusion in home and school. The plan of remedies was sent to a panel of experts for its validation. It was finalized on the basis of qualitative feed back of experts.